Four-match ban on West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran for ball tampering

New Delhi : West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran has been handed over a four-match ban for allegedly tampering the ball against three-match one-day international series against Afghanistan.

Pooran was caught doing something suspicious with the ball during the third match. He has allegedly breached level 3 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. He was charged with violating Article 2.14 of the code, which relates to "changing the condition of the ball".

In the video footage, he can be seen clearly scratching the surface of the ball with his thumbnail in the game which West Indies won by five wickets at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium on Monday.

The ball tampering charges has been leveled by both the on field umpires and also the fourth umpire. Pooran admitted the offence on Tuesday and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

He will now miss the next four T20I games for the Windies and will have five demerit points added to his record.

“I want to issue a sincere apology to my teammates, supporters and the Afghanistan team for what transpired on the field of play on Monday in Lucknow,” said Pooran.

“I recognise that I made an extreme error in judgment and I fully accept the ICC penalty. I want to assure everyone that this is an isolated incident and it will not be repeated. I promise to learn from this and come back stronger and wiser,” he added.